Confederation of African Football (CAF) opens public voting for ‘Best African Player’ for first time

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has opened voting For the first time for the public to decide who should be awarded the Best African Player of the Year, as well as the Team of the Year, with the top 11 players selected individually by position.

The voting process will start on Sunday, according to the official CAF website. Public voting will be the final of three stages determining the winner of the award. The first stage saw the consultation of players, and the second, coaches.

Voters can choose one of three finalists as their African Player of the Year: Egypt and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who was chosen in December as the African Footballer of the Year by the BBC, Borussia Dortmund Gabonese star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and another Liverpool player, Senegal’s Sadio Mane.

Last year, the winner was Algerian and Leicester City midfielder Riyad Mahrez, witih Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finishing runners-up.

Meanwhile, voting for the strongest ‘team’ in Africa will be conducted via the CAF Facebook page. Details of the voting process will be revealed in a CAF ceremony, taking place on January 4